War & Peace
by GeminiMercedes
Summary: Ash is coming back to Pallet Town for some R&R but what's he going to do when his old feelings for an old companion start to rise? PokeShipping, and more as the story goes!
1. Barbeque Dash

War & Peace

Pokeshipping, and more as the story goes!

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her cerulean blue pupils as piercing and curious as ever and she had to smile as she noticed how little her appearance had changed over all of these years. Her hair was still in its trademark side ponytail and her clothes still held that unisex flair.

Except now she had a yellow v-neck top with short sleeves and denim shorts that began right under her chest and cut off in the middle of her thighs. She was wearing white and yellow sneakers as well.

A shiver rushed up her spine as she took in how much older she must of looked. Well it didn't matter, she had grown and she was proud of her appearance. Being the leader of the cerulean Gym, she liked to look intimidating – it made the new trainers try a little harder.

She rolled her eyes at that thought. She walked out of the bathroom and headed to her bedroom to check her alarm clock.

7:00 _AM_

"What?" Had her self-evaluating taken up that much time? Regardless, she had to hurry. Ash was going to be arriving at _7:30 AM_ in Pallet Town from the Sinnoh region so she would have to hurry. She exited the gym and grabbed her bike, smiling brightly at the nice weather.

/

"Thanks for letting me tag along all the way back to your hometown!" Damn said cheerfully as she stared at the glistening body of water surrounding the cruise ship. Ash, Brock and Dawn were on a cruise ship heading back to Pallet town.

"No problem, I'm glad you and Brock could join me actually." Ash said with a smile as he patted Pikachu on the head, the lightning mouse was resting on his shoulder.

"It'll be awesome to see Professor Oak in the flesh again." Brock grinned as he stared at the land in front of them that was continuing to get bigger. Ash nodded.

He was excited to get back and see his mother and friends again. Traveling through the Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh regions was amazing but there was no place like home.

"So Ash, I took the liberty of inviting May and Max over to Pallet town for the time that we'll be staying there." Brock spoke up, interrupting Ash from his thoughts.

"Awesome! But we're only staying for a week right?" Ash asked with a confused expression on his face. He really wanted to see his old friends, but at the same time it would be bittersweet since he would have to leave shortly.

"But don't you want to take a slight vacation from Pokémon training? I know it's your passion, but you work really hard Ash." Dawn said, resting her arm on the railing of the ship's observation deck and breathing in the cool sea breeze.

"Yeah Ash, we all have to rest up every once in a while right?" Brock nudged him lightly. Ash pondered the thought for a minute, placing his index finger on his chin.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer." He said looking towards the sky. Dawn squealed in happiness.

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun! Vacation time in Ash's hometown!" Ash grinned sheepishly.

"There really isn't that much to do in Pallet town, Dawn. I don't want you to get too excited." Dawn shook her head furiously.

"Nonsense, I bet it will be awesome! Plus, I want to get a taste of the Kanto region." She said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Plus," She continued. "It's going to be nice to meet your mom and get to see May again. Her brother is coming too right Brock?"

"Yup," Brock nodded. Ash turned to Pikachu who was currently enjoying the ocean view.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, a break wouldn't be that bad." Dawn slapped him on the back happily.

"Now you're starting to see what I mean." She said in a sing-song-y voice.

"Looks like we're almost there, we should go in and get our stuff." Brock pointed out, as the land they were coming up to grew closer. With a nod from Ash and a squeal from Dawn, the trio headed inside to grab their bags.

/

"So how are we getting there?" Dawn asked as she stepped off the ship. Brock tilted his head sideways.

"We could walk, but I think it would be easier to rent some bikes out." Ash nodded.

"Good idea, we can get them from the Poke Center." He pointed to a pink building close by with a Poke ball symbol on the front.

"Alright then, let's go!" Dawn said grabbing the two of them and racing towards the center.

/

The spring breeze whistled through Misty's hair as she biked down the main road towards Pallet town.

"It'll be nice to see Brock and Ash again." She tried to ignore the beat her heart skipped as she said his name.

It had been a long time since she had been able to hang out with her friends, the last time being the Mirage Kingdom fiasco. She wished she could have travelled with Ash and Brock after that but she had duties at the Gym.

"Still, I could have had my sisters come off their vacation and do the battles at the Gym." She thought aloud. She then sighed loudly.

"Well no time to look at the past when I have a golden opportunity now!" She pushed a fist into the air triumphantly, and then quickly returned it to her bike handle so she wouldn't swerve into a ditch.

"I wonder if he missed me." She almost laughed as she said this. As if _Ash_ had any clue about her feelings.

"He only thinks of me as a friend, I can live with that." But that was a lie, if ever told. She always kept that small amount of hope that Ash would come back harbouring not-so-secret feelings for her, but she knew better. She laughed out loud again.

"What is with all of this soul-searching today?" She asked herself, checking her watch.

"It's almost 7:40! Oh well, hopefully his ship is taking its sweet time." She thought as she raced even faster towards Pallet town.

/

Misty parked her bike just inside the white picket fence around Ash's house and unhooked her helmet. She took a deep breathe, and walked onto the front porch. She knocked twice. If he was already inside, she didn't want to come off too eager.

"Hey Misty!" Misty's eyes widened at the person who answered the door. There was May in her green bandana and orange and green outfit.

"M-May, you're here already? It's so nice to see you, how are you?" Misty embraced her friend with a tight hug. May smirked and winked at Misty.

"Aww were you expecting someone else? Ash, for instance?" Misty's cheeks turned a deep red and shook her head.

"No, more like his mother! Speaking of which where is Mrs. Ketchum?" She asked indignantly as she stepped inside, following May to the family room.

"Oh, she went out to get some groceries for dinner tonight. She knows we're all coming down. I offered to go with her but she wanted someone to be here when everyone showed up." May explained, passing Misty a cup of tea that Misty had just noticed was sitting on the coffee table. The two took opposite seats on the two couches that were in the family room and sipped their tea.

"So when are you going to tell him?" May asked abruptly, causing Misty to almost choke on her tea.

"I told you I wasn't going to tell him, ever." She half-heartedly glared at May who giggled at her friend's response.

"You know it's going to bug you, especially because you're going to be around him when he gets here. I remember when you called me a couple weeks ago; asking me whether or not you should do it. We knew about coming down here for a while so I'm guessing it was bugging you." The brunette said while sipping her tea. Misty rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but so far today has been full of soul-searching way too early in the morning. I think it's better if we just stay friends."

"Better for our circle, or better for you?" May asked. Misty raised an eyebrow and debated whether or not to ask what the Hoenn Princess meant.

"I'll bite, what are you talking about?" May sighed and shook her head.

"Well, I'm guessing you don't want to tell him because if you guys were to start dating and one day broke up, it would cause a rift in our circle of friends. Plus, since he's always travelling through regions, you guys probably wouldn't see each other enough to want to make up."

Misty replied with a 'oh' of understanding and then shook her head.

"I wasn't thinking about that because I think that if we dated, we would last." She said, resting her head in her hands after placing her cup back on the coffee table.

"Aw! So are you saying you think you guys could get _married_?" May squealed. Misty's face became crimson red.

"W-wait, I never said that!"

"You _basically_ did!"

"No I _didn't_!"

"Yes you _did_!"

"N-no, May don't tell _anybody_ that!"

"But you said it!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Yes, I did!" Misty glared, trying to get May to slip up. May caught on quickly though.

"Haha, see!" She pointed a finger at her ginger friend. Misty threw her hands up in the air in frustration and then turned to look away. She even tried to ignore the fit of giggles she heard May trying to hold in.

Suddenly, both girls turned to the door which had started to unlock.

"Hey Mom, I'm home!"

/

Ash ran in the house and looked around. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and headed up to Ash's room. Dawn and Brock stepped in the house and began to take off their shoes.

"So this is your house? It's so cute." Dawn squealed, as she went to follow Ash who was checking every room for his mother.

He stepped into the family room and was grabbed in a bear hug by May.

"M-may you're already here? Did you get in through the window or something?" May slapped him over the head.

"No dummy! Your mother let me in. Didn't Brock tell you I was coming?" She turned to stare at Brock who had just entered the room.

"Yeah, I did. But you know Ash." May nodded in agreement before giving Brock a hug. She let go and turned to Dawn, who had just checked out all the other rooms on the main floor.

"Hey, Dawn! It's been a while, how are you?" The two girls shared a hug.

"Good, how about you May? And wasn't your brother supposed to come too?" Dawn said, looking behind May.

"Yeah, but he got sick a couple days ago so my parents are taking care of him." May said with a sheepish smile.

Ash turned to look on the other side of the family room and his eyes widened.

"M-misty?" he stared as the water Pokémon gym leader stood up from the couch.

"Oh Ash, don't tell me you forgot about me too?" She said jokingly with her eyes closed and a hand placed on her hip. Ash snapped out of his shock and smiled a toothy grin.

"No, never, Brock just didn't me that you were coming. Plus, I assumed you were busy with the gym." Misty smiled at his response as she gave him a light hug. Ash stared into her eyes with a big smile.

"Glad to know I was missed." Misty said with a wink before looking away. It was hard for her to keep eye contact with Ash for some reason.

_You know the reason,_ She told herself.

"Wait so you welcome Misty with open arms but think I crawled through the window?" May screamed jokingly, closing her hands into fists and running at Ash, who began running around the house away from her.

"I was just kidding May! Wait, don't! Ow!"

/

"It's so nice to finally meet you Misty!" Dawn exclaimed as she placed her bags on the top bunk of the bunk beds in the guest bedroom.

"You too, Dawn. Brock has told me a lot about you. How has travelling been for you so far?" Misty replied as she placed her own bag on the bottom bunk of the same bed. May had the other bunk bed to share with Brock on the opposite side of the bedroom that that everyone would be sharing for their stay in Pallet town.

"It's been awesome! Ash and Brock are the best. They always keep me motivated. Ash especially," Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really now?" Dawn nodded.

"He's just the best, you know? He's one of the best trainers I've ever seen and yet he's so humble and down to earth. A little childish sometimes, but he wouldn't be Ash without that." The blunette laughed.

Misty could feel herself getting slightly red in anger but pushed those feelings away.

"Yeah, he's definitely childish. But he's a good guy, I'm glad he's travelling with you and Brock." Dawn nodded and then headed to the door.

"Are we going to go outside? I think Ash is setting up the barbeque right now." Misty sweat dropped.

"He's what? I better bring my water Pokémon." The two laughed as they headed downstairs to the backyard.

/

"This is going to be easy Brock! Why won't you let me help?" Ash said as he tried to make a beeline for the barbeque which was being protected by Brock and May.

"No way Ash, I don't want your house to burn down." Brock said with a serious expression on his face. May turned to Brock and giggled at his comment and then turned back to the raven-haired trainer.

"Or worse, my hair! Ash please just let Brock do the barbequing, who are you trying to impress?" May added in, with a smirk.

"What are you guys talking about? I'm a pro at this stuff!" Ash said with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah right Ash. The food will be ashes by the time you're done with it!" The trio turned to see Misty and Dawn entering the backyard from the back door.

"What are you talking about Misty? As if you could do any better." Ash challenged.

"W-what? Let me show you!" Misty clenched her fists charged at Brock and May, Ash following behind.

"Uh-oh." Brock whispered and looked at May with a scared expression on his face. The two screamed as they jumped out of the way of Misty and Ash tackling the barbeque. The two began throwing steaks on the grill and sprinkling them with seasoning.

"Some things don't ever change." Brock sighed as he got up from the grass. Dawn just covered her mouth in shock.

"These two are a piece of work." May sighed as she brushed the grass off of her outfit and took a step back from the two rivals currently engrossed in a cooking match.

"Hey Dawn, do you want to help me with setting the table inside?" May asked, walking towards the blunette.

"Yeah sure, I think they have the food part down pact." Dawn giggled as she turned back towards the back door.

"I'll make sure they don't start throwing sizzling hot steaks at each other." Brock whispered as he sweat dropped and turned back to Ash and Misty. May and Dawn nodded before heading inside.

/

"Hey May can I ask you something?" Dawn said as she placed the forks and knives beside the plates on one side of the living room table as May did the other.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"Well, it's about Misty and Ash…" She trailed off, and May looked up and stared at her.

"What about them?" She asked as she went back to setting up the rest of the plates.

"Well, do you think they like each other?" May looked up in shock. But that shock quickly disappeared as she remembered how obvious the two were.

"Why do you ask?" She said as she finished placing the plates in front of all the seats.

"I don't know. They seem so close and not in a brother-sister type of way." Dawn replied looking down at the plates on her end.

"Well, actually-" May was cut off by the back door flying open and revealing Misty and Ash, both carrying plates covered in sizzling brown steaks.

"DINNERS READY!" They screamed before heading into the living room, Brock following behind them sighing loudly.

"They actually did a good job," He informed Dawn and May as they stared at the steaks Misty and Ash placed in the middle of the table.

"But I forgot to make some salad, rice, and fruit punch so I'm going to do that now-"

"No I can do it!" Ash interrupted.

"No _I_ can do it!" Misty screamed, pushing Ash to the side.

"Bet I can do it better!" The two screamed in unison before running into the kitchen.

Dawn, May and Brock just sighed, and went to see what they could do to help.

/

"I've invited Professor Oak and Gary over for dinner as well." Mrs. Ketchum stated as she took a seat in the family room with May, and Dawn. She had tried to help cook dinner when she had got back from the grocery store but Misty and Ash were on an all out cooking competition and refused to be interrupted or helped. The only reason Brock was allowed in the kitchen was because he was making his family's secret salad dressing that everyone always enjoyed.

"Who's Gary?" Dawn asked Ash's mother.

"He's Professor Oaks' Son. He's extremely smart and a great trainer, just like my son." Mrs. Ketchum explained while looking over to Ash and Misty who were fighting for dominance over the rice cooker in the kitchen.

"I've only seen him on Poke Chat in the Pokémon Centers when I was travelling with Ash but he seems nice and super competition, just like someone we all know and love." May explained loudly to Dawn.

"I heard that!" Ash yelled from the kitchen before continuing to fight Misty for the rice cooker.

"Would you too give it a rest?" Brock screamed in frustration as he tried to get around them to get to the salt shaker. Misty opened her mouth to respond before sighing and wiping her forehead with the back of her palm.

"Yeah Ash, can we take a break? Cooking is hard work." Ash nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, Brock could you do the rest?" The two exited the kitchen leaving a frustrated and annoyed Pokémon breeder in the kitchen.

"Don't worry Brock, I'll help you!" May offered as she got up and headed over to the kitchen. Dawn moved over so Misty and Ash could sit down on the couch as well.

"I have to say Ash; I'm really impressed with your cooking skills! You've grown a lot since we last saw each other." Ash blushed a bit and looked down before turning back to Misty with a toothy grin.

"Hey thanks Misty! You weren't so bad yourself." The two seemed to stop and stare into each others eyes which caught the attention of Mrs. Ketchum and Dawn. Dawn cleared her throat which caused the two to turn to her.

"I think Brock and May are almost done, we should go take our seats in the living room." She said matter-of-factly before getting up and leaving the family room. Ash looked at Misty and shrugged before getting up and following Dawn. Misty got up as well only to be stopped by Mrs. Ketchum's giggles.

"What's so funny, Mrs. Ketchum?" She asked politely. Ash's mother shook her head and got up from her seat.

"Oh nothing Misty, Let's just go eat." She said with a smile. Misty raised an eyebrow, but followed quickly when she heard her stomach growl.

/

**Okay guys I've been reading way too much PokeShipping the last couple of days and I'm in love! Who would have thought I'd do a Pokémon Fanfiction? Anyways, tell me what you think, and review if you enjoyed. I want to see where this goes. And by the way, what's the name for AshxDawn and GaryxMisty?**

**-GeminiMercedes-**


	2. Sweet Dreams

War & Peace Chapter 2

Pokeshipping, ONE SIDED Pearlshipping, Cavaliershipping, more as the story goes!

May, Dawn, Misty, Ash, Brock, and Mrs. Ketchum took seats at the dinner table and immediately dug in. Well actually, Ash started first, mumbling something about how he shouldn't have to wait for Gary when the food was already done and everyone was hungry. Everyone else, shortly followed suit.

"This is really good. You guys did an excellent job." Mrs. Ketchum said with a wide smile. Misty and Ash blushed at the compliment.

"Yeah, I can't lie, Ash, your cooking is pretty good." May added jokingly. Misty giggled at this comment but Ash didn't find it so amusing.

"What are you talking about? Everyone knows I can cook, especially since Misty can't really cook." He replied with a smirk.

"Wait, excuse me? If it wasn't for me competing with you to make this dinner you probably would have done a pretty bad job!" Misty retaliated while raising a shaking fist in Ash's direction.

"Yeah right! I could say the same thing to you!" Ash retorted.

"Here we go again," Brock sighed. Suddenly, the conversation (or argument) was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"Oh, that's probably Professor Oak and Gary." Mrs. Ketchum said, excusing herself from the table and running off to the door.

"I've never met Gary, what's he like?" May asked Brock. Brock opened his mouth to respond when Dawn jumped in.

"Oh he writes the most romantic poems, just like his Grandfather! Or at least that's what I've heard." The blunette sighed happily. "It'll be so nice to see him again; unlike _some guys_ Gary is totally romantic."

"You really think so?" Misty asked with a sarcastic tone and a raised eyebrow. Dawn just nodded and looked towards Ash disapprovingly.

"H-hey, when you said _other guys_, were you referring to me?" Ash asked indignantly.

"If you were, I'd totally agree with you." May said as she giggled loudly, smirking at Ash.

_I can't even defend him on that one. They're totally right. _Misty thought to herself as she pushed her food around her plate. It really put a damper on her mood that May and Dawn had reassured her fears. Ash really _didn't_ have a romantic bone in his body.

"So why do I even try?" Misty mumbled, not realizing she was thinking aloud.

"Try what?" Brock, who was sitting on her right hand side, asked quietly.

"N-nothing! I didn't say anything." Misty waved her hands in front of her face to cover up the new blush that had appeared.

"You okay Misty? Your face is getting red…" Ash asked as he stopped eating and looked towards her with concern in his voice. This made Misty's blush go from a slight pink to a deep crimson red.

_Oh NOW he wants to be compassionate and caring!_

"Well maybe it's because I just stepped into the room!"

/

Gary waltzed in with Mrs. Ketchum behind him into the living room. He took a seat beside Dawn who was more than happy to have the 'poet' sit next to her.

"Hey, Gary! How have you been?" Dawn asked cheerfully.

"I've been good, how are your contests going?" Gary asked politely. Dawn smiled widely.

"They've been going great! I had a rough patch at one point but I'm back on full throttle!" She threw a fist in the air triumphantly and then blushed slightly when she realized everyone was staring at her.

"How's the research going?" Brock inquired as Gary looked around the table.

"Great, actually, my grandfather and I have been working some new things. However, as you know – most of it is top secret Pokémon research so my lips are sealed for now." He said cockily.

"Speaking of which, where is Professor Oak?" Ash said, rolling his eyes at Gary's last statement.

"Ashy-boy I would expect you to be extremely excited to see me, but its okay. He's working on some of the stuff that I mentioned and you know how engrossed he can get. He sends his wishes though."

"That's nice of him, Gary. Let me get you a plate since Ash took two, I'll be right back." Mrs. Ketchum chirped as she headed off to the kitchen, leaving an eruption of laughter from everyone at the table except for Ash.

"W-what? I didn't have enough room on one so I just used the other one that no one was using!" Ash yelled indignantly, which had no effect on the growing laughter.

/

"So, Gary, do you have another poem for me?" Dawn swooned, rubbing Gary's shoulder slowly. Gary, as politely as he could, moved his arm out of her reach. Dinner was finished and Mrs. Ketchum had retired to bed, leaving Ash and the group to relax and talk amongst each other.

"Not this time Dawn, but I _promise_ next time. You guys will be here a while so one of these days I'll have one." He sighed in relief as Dawn seemed to back off.

"Okay fine, but you _promised_!"

"So you got any new Pokémon, Gary?" Ash asked excitingly, which caused Misty to sigh loudly.

"What, Misty?" Ash turned to her and raised an eyebrow. However, Gary cleared his throat and brought Ash's attention back to him.

"Sorry Ashy-boy. I've heard that you're on vacation so no battles!" Gary replied with a laugh. Ash groaned loudly and shook his head.

"It's okay Ash! You have all of us and Pikachu! We can have loads of fun!" May reassured him with a smile.

"Yeah Ash, don't act like you're not happy to have all of us as company. Plus, you usually don't go on vacation so some of us don't get to see you and…" Misty trailed off. She had wanted to say they missed him but he would just think they were talking as friends.

"And…?" Ash pried. Misty stared at him and then shook her head.

"I'm retiring for the night. Good night everyone, I'll see you in the morning." Misty tried to sound as cheerful as possible but she was also trying to stifle a yawn. She got up from her seat and headed to the stairs, waving to everyone as they wished her a good night. She failed to notice Ash looking at her with a confused expression on his face.

She walked up the stairs and headed to the bathroom; her toiletries were in a bag and were already situated on the bathroom counter. She grabbed her blue toothbrush and Colgate toothpaste and began brushing. Realizing how loud her electric toothbrush was she closed the bathroom door so that Mrs. Ketchum wouldn't wake up.

/

"Maybe I should go check on her." Ash muttered loud enough for everyone to hear him. Brock and May looked at each other and winked.

"Yeah you probably should." May smirked but then switched to a smile when Ash turned to look at her.

"Actually, maybe I should go." Dawn interrupted, earning glares from May and Brock. She didn't seem to care though.

"T-that's really nice of you Dawn, but Misty and Ash have known each other for a long time. She'll probably talk to him over someone she only recently met." Brock tried to change her mind but Dawn was beginning to get up anyway.

_Oh, no you don't!_ May thought to herself as she also got up.

"Brock's right. Ash should go." May said, using herself as a barrier to block Dawn from leaving the dining room.

"Ashy-boy if you're gonna go you better get up now." Gary taunted, realizing what was going on.

"Okay, okay I'm going!" Ash huffed as he got up from the table, passed by May and headed upstairs.

Dawn went back and sat down with a look of defeat and anger on her face. May just smiled at Brock who nodded back.

/

Misty continued to brush her teeth while staring at her reflection in the mirror.

_Why doesn't he see that I'm trying?_

She felt her eyes getting red and she tried her best not to sink into any despair.

_Maybe he does now, and is just ignoring it because he doesn't feel the same._

As the waterworks came flooding in, Misty managed to stop her self and wiped away the few tears that had managed to get out.

_Why am I crying over a boy? Misty, get it together!_

It wasn't just any boy though, it was Ash. And she had liked him for a long time, and those feelings were manifesting into even deeper ones.

_Knock, knock!_

Remembering that she had closed the door so she wouldn't have bothered Mrs. Ketchum, Misty continued to brush her teeth as she stared at the door. She brushed it off; whoever it was could wait their turn.

_Knock, knock!_

"I'm almost done, give me a minute!" She yelled at the slab of wood separating her and this rather impatient person on the other side.

_Knock, knock!_

"For the love of…"

/

"Why didn't you guys let me go up and talk to her?" Dawn asked angrily as she crossed her arms and sat back in her seat.

"We weren't trying to be mean, it's just Misty doesn't really know you that well." May explained, confused as to why Dawn was so mad about it.

"Is it not being able to talk to Misty that has you so upset or is it the fact that _Ash_ was going to go talk to Misty?" Gary asked, silencing the four people left at the table. Brock's eyebrows rose up in understanding and May's jaw dropped.

_Please tell me she doesn't like Ash, as well?_ May, thought to herself. Meanwhile Dawn was stuttering and trying to think of an answer.

"N-no of course not, what are you talking about Gary?" Gary just shrugged and closed his eyes.

"I don't know, it just seemed like that was the case." He said honestly.

"Well, that's not true." Dawn replied venomously, turning her head away from Gary.

"I'm going to go to bed. Good. Night." She added abruptly, pushing her seat back and standing up before walking out of the living room. Once she was out of ear shot, May turned to Brock.

"You've travelled with her; does she have a crush on Ash?" Gary's eyes widened, if Brock had eyes his would have as well.

"I-I don't know! I mean maybe but I wouldn't have noticed because it wouldn't have been as strong a connection as the one between Misty and Ash." Brock stuttered, trying to think back to see if there had been any suspicious moments between the two.

"I see. I guess we'll have to wait for something to happen tomorrow then. Well boys, it's been great but I'm going to retire as well. A girl needs her beauty sleep you know." She waved to both of them before heading upstairs, leaving a confused Gary and Brock behind.

/

"What do you want?" Misty hissed as she walked over to the door and ripped it open with strength that could have taken it off its hinges. She was surprised to see Ash at the door, his fist still in the air ready to knock again.

"H-hey Misty just wanted to know if you were all right." Ash asked gently. Misty took a step back in surprise.

"I'm fine, I'm just really tired. I biked all the way down here so my stamina is gone." She tried to play off the emotional exhaustion that was really behind her sudden loss of strength.

"Oh, okay. I'll just share my mom's bathroom for the time that you guys are all here, so you don't have to worry about me all up in your space. Well, uh, good night!" The raven-haired trainer rushed through what he had to say before running off towards his own bedroom.

"O-okay, Good Night Ash." Realizing he was already gone, she muttered,

"Sweet dreams…"

/

"Pssstttt! Misty, wake up!"

Misty had been having a nice dream. She had gone out on a date with Ash that was everything she could have wished for. He had taken her to this fancy restaurant, given her roses and chocolates, and he had even paid the bill. Afterwards they went to the beach and walked the boardwalk until sunset, where they had taken a bench seat and watched the waves roll up onto the shore. She had looked towards Ash, then realizing he was staring at her. She blushed a deep red and watched as the raven-haired trainer's lips grew closer to hers…

"Would you wake up? I'm about to get Pikachu to thunderbolt you-" Misty groaned and turned away from the noise. She felt someone prodding her shoulder and finally turned to the person who had awakened her from her amazing dream.

"Would you stop it May! Oh my gosh, it's like _two o'clock in the morning_!" May crossed her arms across her chest and huffed.

"Well I have to talk to you, and I might not get a chance to do it in private tomorrow so wake up!" The brunette hissed. Misty rolled her eyes but removed her blanket and tip toed after May who had already left the room.

"Okay, now what do you want?" Misty growled, her eyes still barely open. They were standing out in the second floor hallway.

"We can't talk here, let's go to the kitchen!" May whispered excitedly. She was acting as if this was an adventure now.

"What is your problem?" The cerulean gym leader asked as she followed quickly behind.

"Just shut up and c'mon!"

As they reached the kitchen, May grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and the milk carton from the fridge. She quickly poured both of them glasses (half full in May's opinion, half empty in Misty's. But this could have been because she was tired and was wishing she was in her bed at this time.).

"Okay, relax. You're gonna want to hear this when you're at least partly awake." May said taking a deep gulp from her glass.

"What is it already?" Misty said with impatience as she refused to take a sip of her milk until this whole situation was explained to her.

"Okay well, I think Dawn has a crush on Ash." Suddenly Misty was very glad May had woken her up.

"She what?"

"I _think_ she does, and so do Brock and Gary. Girl, I told you to work fast but no." May said shaking her head in disapproval.

"You never said _work fast_!" Misty growled.

"Oh I probably did, you just don't remember it." May replied, stifling a giggle.

"Whatever, are you sure though?" Misty said in a more concerned voice.

"I'm sorry Misty. I think she does. You should have seen how badly she wanted to go talk to you after Ash volunteered to go see you when you left the table. She really didn't want Ash to go for some reason. I think she's growing feelings for him." Misty sighed as May explained her theory. She wouldn't be surprised, Ash was a good guy. Immature at times, and a bit hard-headed, he was still a great guy.

"Well that's fine, she can have him." Misty muttered. She obviously didn't want that, but she really felt like Ash didn't care for her in more than a friendship kind of way.

"Misty, don't even say that. You fight for what you love." May said quietly, patting Misty's hand.

"I never said I loved him!" Misty shot back indignantly. May winked.

"You didn't have to!" The brunette giggled, slapping Misty on the shoulder.

"Anyways, Brock said we're going down to the beach tomorrow. It's a little ways away so wake up early." May explained before wishing Misty a good night and heading off to bed.

"She tells me to wake up early when she wakes me up in the middle of the night, the night before!" Misty sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Who woke you up?"

Misty almost had a heart attack when she realized she wasn't the only one in the kitchen.

"What the hell? Ash, don't sneak up on me like that!" She covered her mouth so her comment wouldn't wake anybody up. Ash walked over to her and tapped his finger on her glass of milk.

"Sorry, I just came down for some milk myself; I was leaving my room when I saw May go back into hers. I didn't even know anyone else was down here. Sorry if I scared you." His apology sounded so sincere, Misty couldn't help but become flustered and angry. And his husky, whispering voice didn't help lower her temperature either.

"It's whatever; just don't make a habit out of it!" She hissed before finishing off her milk.

"Hey, hey, I said I was sorry." He shook his head, grabbing his own glass and looking in the fridge for the milk carton.

/

"So are you sure you're okay?" Ash asked as he took a seat beside Misty at the island in the kitchen, which had two bar stools on one side.

"Y-yeah I'm fine." She wasn't fine, especially with him so close to her.

"It's not m-me is it?" He muttered just loud enough for Misty to catch it. Misty turned to look at him, but he was staring at his glass of milk.

_Still half empty. _She pushed away the thought.

"N-no of course not. I'm really glad you're back." She couldn't believe those words that came out of her mouth.

"Well, I'm glad you're here too. I know you're super busy with the gym, it was nice that you could take time off to come see me." He gave her a toothy grin that Misty could see clearly even though there were no lights on in the kitchen.

"No problem, I'm having fun with everyone." She replied as she smiled back. She wanted to keep talking with him, but when she took a glance at the clock she realized she needed to get some shut eye.

"Sorry Ash, but it's almost four o'clock. I need to get some shut eye if I'm going to be ready for the beach tomorrow." She said slowly, secretly wanting him to tell her to stay. But all Ash did was blink and nod.

"Yeah, you're right. I better go then. Well, good night!" He whispered before taking off into the darkness.

Misty rested her head on the counter and sighed.

"What am I going to do?"

/

**Yay! Another chapter complete! I actually like where this story is going. I really like Ash and Misty as a pairing and I think May makes a good wing-person. Tell me what you guys think, and I'll hopefully update soon.**

**-GeminiMercedes-**


	3. Pool Rings

War & Peace Chapter 3

Pokeshipping, ONE SIDED Pearlshipping, Cavaliershipping, more as the story goes!

"Misty you have to hurry up! You of all people shouldn't be taking so long!" May yelled as she pounded on the bathroom door.

It was the next day and as promised, the group was going down to the beach for some fun and relaxation. Everyone was ready and waiting downstairs – even Gary who had decided to come along. Misty was the only one who wasn't ready yet and now May was outside the bathroom door impatiently waiting.

"S-sorry, I'll be out in five minutes!"

"You said that, _five minutes_ ago!"

"May, just give me a second…" May sighed, realizing that her threats and screams were doing nothing to speed up Misty's beach preparing process.

"Okay, okay, at least let me come in and help you."

"W-what?" A flustered Misty gasped as she stared incredulously at the door that separated the two.

"N-not like that! I'm assuming you're already dressed to go." May replied quickly, when she noticed the shock in Misty's voice.

May heard a sound and looked down to see the doorknob twist and the bathroom creak a little as it opened up half way. May jumped in and quickly slammed the door behind her, just in case Misty wasn't fully dressed and someone was looking. She turned around and a blood vessel in her forehead almost popped.

"Are you serious, Misty? What are you doing?"

The Cerulean Gym leader was fully dressed in regular day clothes, which today, consisted of a bright yellow t-shirt and some denim shorts. Misty stared at her with an apologetic look on her face and pointed to the two swimming suits she was holding in her right hand. May tapped a finger on her wrist and cleared her throat, to which Misty gave her another apologetic smile.

"Okay, fine, what's going on?" May asked dryly. Misty smiled at her brightly.

"Well, you see I have these two swimsuits and I don't know which one I want to wear." She laid the two swimsuits out on the bathroom countertop for May to see. One was a dark blue one-piece that was made of polyester material and the other was a baby blue bikini that had orange horizontal stripes as the design and bronze rings that held the piece together.

"Well, obviously you should pick the one you like." May said exasperatingly, staring back at Misty. She, herself was dressed in a green and white bikini and an orange transparent shawl that was tied around her waist.

"Well if only it were that simple!" Misty retorted, staring at May for a minute and then turning back to the two pairs of swimwear.

"Misty, you're a pretty simple girl – don't take that in a negative way. I don't understand why…ohhhh." Realization hit her like a slap in the face.

"You would rather wear the one piece but because Ash is there, you want to wear the bikini, am I right?" May smirked, placing an accusing finger at Misty.

"W-what, what are you talking about? And what do you mean simple?" Misty asked, trying to use a towel to cover up the blush that was quickly forming on her face.

"Ha, I was right! If that's the case, wear the bikini!" May giggled loudly. Misty rolled her eyes.

"But I'm not that comfortable wearing this type of stuff. And would you stop laughing? If you're not going to take this seriously, you can go wait downstairs with everyone else." That shut May up.

"Okay I'm sorry, look you know I'm here to help you, it's just really cute to see what you're doing. Wear the bikini." And with that, Misty nodded and pushed May out of the bathroom so she could get dressed.

"Hey, hey okay I'm going! And by the way, let your hair down." May said with a wink before closing the door behind her.

/

"What is taking them so long?" Ash said as he tapped his foot impatiently.

"Relax, Ashy-boy we have the whole day to chill out on the beach. You can wait another ten minutes." Gary said with a smirk on his face.

"Another _ten minutes_?" Ash screamed as if he was in agony. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry about it Ash, you know how girls are." Brock said knowingly.

"Hey, but Dawn is here! It didn't take her that long." Ash retorted, turning to Dawn for support.

The blunette just huffed and turned away. Gary caught this and walked over to Dawn.

"Are you okay, Dawn? You seem pretty down." He asked with a worried tone.

"I'm fine," Dawn replied quickly.

"What's her problem?" Ash whispered to Brock, who simply shrugged.

Dawn had been down since breakfast that morning and as she sat down on the porch in her pink one piece swimsuit, the boys could tell her attitude had gotten worse.

"You know what, Brock? Give me the keys, I'm going to go sit in the van and wait." Dawn commanded suddenly. Brock, taken aback, fumbled in his pocket until he found the keys to Mrs. Ketchum's car – which she had given him. He handed them to Dawn, who snatched them out of his hand and made her way to the red minivan that would be their ride to the beach.

"Sorry, we're late!" May squealed as she ran through the front door, smiling as she basked in the sunlight of the warm day.

"What took you so long?" Ash asked with his arms crossed, and a raised eyebrow. May shot him a death glare.

"Ash, you should never rush a lady,"

"And don't even think about saying what I think you're about to." She added when Ash opened his mouth to retort.

"Hey guys, I'm so sorry for taking so long!" Ash looked past May to see a beautiful girl in a blue and orange bikini and yellow flip flops. Her orange hair lay on her shoulders and swayed back and forth with the warm breeze.

"M-misty, you look amazing." He stuttered. Misty began to blush and then tried to look away.

"Why, thank you Ash." She muttered, growling in May's direction when she saw the brunette smirking and nudging Brock's arm.

"Anyways, let's head off!" Gary said loudly, clapping his hands together and heading for the passenger seat of the car.

"H-hey! I called shotgun!"

/

"Are we there yet? I'm getting hungry." Ash moaned as he patted his stomach. Everyone else in the car rolled their eyes.

"Ash, remember when Brock placed that black messenger bag in the back of the van? It's FULL of snacks. If you had asked me I would have gotten you one." Dawn said with a giggle, reaching behind her seat and pulling out the bag that she had mentioned. Her mood had dramatically changed when Ash had taken a seat beside her in the van.

Ash's eyes widened like saucers.

"Are you serious? Why didn't anyone tell me? I've been sitting here with my stomach growling, which is kind of embarrassing." The raven-haired trainer exclaimed. Misty rolled her eyes again.

"Well we all just assumed you knew. That was obviously a mistake." She smirked as she said this, watching Ash send her a mock glare, before grabbing a bag of chips out of the black bag and pulling it open roughly.

"Are those good? Let me try one." May said quickly before reaching her hand into Ash's bag of chips.

"Me too, Ashy-boy!" Gary laughed, he had got shotgun so Ash had to pass the chips up to him.

"H-hey, don't finish them!" Ash said exasperatingly as he watched Gary gobble the chips down and show him the empty bag by holding it upside down.

"Ash, don't make such a big deal out of it. There's like _ten_ more in the bag if you just looked…" Misty sighed as she took the bag out of Dawn's hands and searched in it before pulling an identical bag out of chips and handing them to Ash.

"T-thanks Misty!" He said cheerfully before opening the bag and munching down on the chips, making sure to keep the bag out of everyone else's reach.

May winked at Misty and Misty just rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the window – where she could see the beach coming into view.

"We're almost there!" Brock said joyfully as he steered into the second lane so he could make a turn for the beach.

/

"Now, Brock if we have to pull you away from three or more girls, _we'll_ call the police! None of that today okay?" Misty said angrily. May and Ash nodded in agreement and Brock just stepped back in pure shock. (Okay maybe not _pure_ shock)

"W-what are you guys talking about? I never…" Realizing no one would either believe him or listen to his excuses he just sighed and went with Gary, Dawn and May to set up the beach equipment the group had brought.

"Is there anything left in the trunk?" Ash said as he opened up the back of the van to see if he missed anything.

"No, I don't think so. But our spot isn't too far from the parking lot, so if we forget anything – it won't be a problem for us to come back and get it." Misty finalized. She placed hand on her hip as Ash checked anyways.

"Ash, what else could we have forgotten? I mean we just brought towels, and a couple of umbrellas, food and-"

"Pool rings!" Ash squealed as he grabbed two flat, plastic bags out of the bottom of the trunk.

"Did you really bring those? Aren't those only meant for – I don't know, the pool?" Misty said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, you'll help me blow them up right?" Ash asked as he ripped open the bags and pulled out two deflated hoop pool rings. One was a light green while the other a dark blue.

"Oh no way, Mr. Ketchum! I came here to relax and walk along the shore. Not become faint or light-headed blowing up some pool rings." Misty replied, rolling her eyes and turning to walk away – failing to notice the raven-haired trainer giving her body a quick up and down.

Ash inwardly slapped himself and shook his head.

_What is wrong with me! That was so not cool; my mother raised me better than that. And not to mention Misty would wring my neck if she caught me._

"Ash, are you coming? Okay fine I'll help you with the stupid pool rings! But I better get to sit in one first." Misty screamed with an annoyed tone in her voice, as now she was a couple feet away from the car.

This snapped Ash out of his thoughts.

"O-oh you will? Okay, thanks Misty!"

"Whatever, let's just go already!"

/

"What took you guys so long, anything happen over by the car?" May asked with a large smirk on her face. The brunette was currently lying on an orange towel taking in the rays. Misty, the only one getting what she was implying, blushed a deep red and shot May a glare.

"Nothing other than Misty promised to help me inflate these pool rings!" Ash replied cheerfully. Misty sighed in relief, glad the raven-haired trainer had no idea what May was actually talking about.

"I can help you with that Ash." Dawn offered. The blunette had been sitting down on the sand hugging her knees, as if she had been anxious about something.

"That's okay. Misty's the Cerulean City gym leader so she can hold her breathe for a lot longer than any of us. It would probably take her a minute tops to fill both of those rings." May said quickly, not one hundred percent sure that Misty could actually do that.

"W-well I wouldn't say that fast, but it probably won't take me that long." Misty added in. Dawn seemed to contemplate an answer before taking a bottle of sunscreen out from her bag and standing up.

"Fine then, I'm going to go check out the water. Ash, since Misty is going to fill up those pool rings, do you want to come with me? Let me lotion your back." She practically grabbed the raven-haired trainer and almost ripped his shirt off in order to get to his back.

Misty felt herself get red as she stared at a shirtless Ash, standing uncomfortably while Dawn covered his back in lotion. From the front, it was clear that all that training had given Ash something to brag about. He had washboard abs that seemed to become more defined with the increasing glare of the sunlight. He was tan, and had a hairless chest, which only increased Misty's heart rate.

"Like what you see?" Ash, noticing Misty's approving glances, asked. The smirk more than evident on his lotion covered face. Misty's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and indignation, especially when she noticed everyone turning to see if she was actually ogling Ash, Dawn especially. The blunette had stopped rubbing Ash with lotion and was glaring holes through Misty's head.

"You can blow up these damn pool rings yourself!" And with that she stomped off the beach towards the parking lot.

/

"Nice job, Ash." May groaned as she got up from the beach towel that she was sitting on and headed off after Misty.

"Yeah, seriously, nice job Ash." Gary whispered to himself.

"W-what did I do? I was just teasing." Ash complained, grumbling softly. Dawn patted him on the shoulder and hugged him from behind.

"Don't worry about her, she'll be fine. Let's go on the beach, play in the water okay?' There was a slight commanding tone in her voice.

"A-alright, but maybe I should go-"

"Ash, it's not even your fault. Plus, if you go talk to her now you'll only anger her more. Give her some time to cool off, let's get in the water." Dawn said matter-of-factly, still hugging him from behind.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." Ash said as Dawn grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the water.

"Hmm," Brock mumbled to himself. What was Dawn up to? Was she trying to separate Ash and Misty?

"You see what I see?" Gary said, pulling up his sunglasses temporarily to stare at Brock. Brock jumped out of his thoughts and stared back.

"What are you talking about?" Gary rolled his eyes and put his sunglasses back on.

"Please, you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about."

/

"Misty, it's me May." May tried to yell as she knocked on the side door of the van. The windows were tinted but she was sure Misty was in there. She wasn't sure how Misty had the keys though.

After a minute, May added, "Can we please not have a repeat performance of this morning?"

Suddenly the door lock clicked, and May stepped inside. Misty was sitting on the seat beside the one by the door, her face covered in her hands. May almost slivered as she sat down on the seat beside Misty's.

"Did you put on the air conditioner?" Misty looked up to show that she wasn't crying, but her face was still red.

"Well did you think I was going to sit in here, burning to death?" Misty asked sarcastically. May rolled her eyes at the reply.

"Hey, I'm here to comfort you!" Both girls laughed and Misty smiled a little.

"Sorry, I'm still upset with what Ash said." She turned and looked out the window at the ocean in front of them.

"It was a stupid comment, but it's Ash, you should be used that by now." May said with a shrug, asking Misty to turn off the air conditioner so she didn't catch a cold. Misty turned the dial on the temperature and apologized.

"I should be, but I'm not for some reason. It's like things have just changed between us." She turned back to May with sadness in her eyes. May sighed and gave Misty a hug.

"Hey, it's been a while since the good old days when you guys went on adventures. And he's grown, he's still immature, but he's grown. And maybe you're a bit scared of what will happen if he finds out, but I think he feels the same way you do. He just doesn't really know it yet, like I said you know that already. Hang in there." Misty nodded throughout May's advice. May was right, she knew how Ash was – why was she expecting anything different? She was interrupted from her thoughts when May poked her gently in her arm.

"Do you want to go back out there? I think Dawn is trying to steal your man-to-be." Misty chose to ignore that last little bit and nodded.

"I'm not going to let Mr. Ketchum stop me from having a great day at the beach!"

/

**Finally a new chapter! School has been crazy but I'm glad I can find time to get some chapters out. I know the way Dawn is with Ash right now is weird, but it will be explained in the next chapter…amongst other things…Anyways, hope you enjoyed. I love your reviews guys, so keep them coming.**

**-GeminiMercedes-**


	4. La Belle Part 1

War & Peace Chapter 4

Pokeshipping, ONE SIDED Pearlshipping, Cavaliershipping, more as the story goes!

/

"The water is so nice! Isn't it Ash?" Dawn squealed as she splashed around waist deep in the ocean water.

"Y-yeah, it's awesome Dawn." Ash said absentmindedly, pulling a hand up to cover his face when Dawn splashed water at him.

"Stop being such a Debby downer! She'll get over it." Dawn said in an annoyed manner.

"Who'll get over what?" The two trainers turned to see Misty walking towards them from the shore. She had tied her hair back up and her face was glowing from the rays of the sun.

"M-misty?" Ash stuttered as his friend walked into the water and started to swim towards them.

"Hey guys, are there any waves out today?" Misty asked, directing her question at Dawn. Dawn looked at her incredulously and she turned away quickly.

"Not that we've seen, if waves were what you were looking for maybe you should have stayed on the shore with everyone else." The blunette replied coldly. Misty chose to ignore the tone in Dawn's voice.

"Oh well, the water is still really nice. I think I'll swim down the beach and come back before everyone is ready to leave, okay?" Ash opened his mouth to say something when Misty placed a finger on his lip.

"I'm still not to happy about what you said but I'm not going to ruin anyone else's beach day because of it, you got that? We'll talk later." The last of the sentence she said in a more caring tone.

"Okay Misty," Ash sighed loudly; relieved she wasn't completely mad at him. Misty rolled her eyes and then proceeded to swim away.

"One second thought, I think I'm going to walk down the beach. Bye Ash." Dawn said gruffly before beginning to waddle towards the shore. Ash stared at her retreating figure with a confused look on his face.

"What did I do now?"

/

"The weather is so nice; we should come here every other day." May yawned, spreading herself out on her beach towel.

"Why should we come every, _other_ day?" Gary asked, lifting his sunglasses momentarily to stare at the brunette.

"Well a girl shouldn't get that much sun!" May retorted jokingly.

"But you are right, the weather is nice. And I see some beautiful girls walking past us as we speak- what?" Brock reeled back when he saw the looks on May and Gary's faces.

"Don't even think about it." May warned loudly, Gary nodded in agreement.

"F-fine," Brock moaned, crossing his arms and sitting in a cross-legged position.

"Hey is that Dawn?" Gary asked, sitting up and taking off his sunglasses for the millionth time that day. May and Brock turned their attention to the direction in which Gary was referring to.

"Dawn what are you doing back so soon, and where is Ash?" May asked the blunette. Dawn simply shrugged and grabbed a towel to dry herself off. She mumbled something about walking down the shore and asked May if she would join her.

"Actually Dawn, I could come with you if you'd have me." Gary offered, shocking Dawn, Brock, and May.

"U-um sure, Gary, I'm going now though."

"That's fine, let me just fold up my towel." Gary replied, jumping up and rolling his towel up before placing it by the rest of the beach equipment. Dawn still, a bit shocked, started walking down to the shore and Gary quickly followed.

"That was unexpected…" Brock mused. May nodded.

"Yeah, I really didn't see that coming. She's more of a fan anyways."

"I was talking about Gary asking Dawn if he could come. He usually likes to act like he's too good for anyone." Brock explained.

"Whatever his intentions are, they're irrelevant as long as he keeps Dawn away from Ash and Misty. They have such a strong connection and I want to see it flourish into more, and I think they do too." May was shocked that she was saying all of this. She and Brock had joked about Ash and Misty, but she didn't know if he saw that something more was there. Of course, she knew that Misty liked Ash but it was clear that Ash couldn't do anything without Misty, and he seemed so helpless when she was mad at him.

"So you see it to?" Brock asked, taking May out of her thoughts.

"Y-yeah I think I do. If we're talking about the same thing…?" May inquired, making sure the two were on the same page.

"Ash and Misty." Brock stated more than asked. He laughed lightly and looked out at the beach.

"I've actually been thinking about that lately." He continued.

/

"So are you okay, you seem pretty down again."

"Again?" Dawn asked the young researcher walking with her down the shore. Gary was wearing a blue and black polyester one piece swimsuit that stopped just above his kneecaps. He had taken off his flip flops and left them at their spot on the beach, Dawn had done the same.

"Well you seemed pretty down this morning as well. We all want to know what's up." Gary tried looking away as he said this, watching the ocean water lightly splash along the shore. Dawn was surprised at the concern in his voice. Was he really worried about her?

I've just had a lot on my mind lately." She tried to play it off, act as if it was nothing serious.

But it was serious. Her conscience told her.

"Like what? I know we aren't that close, but I want to get to know you Dawn." He turned to her with a toothy grin. Dawn could see the sincerity in his smile, but she tried to look away.

"I bet you say that to all the girls you meet." She muttered, but Gary heard it.

"Y-you really think that?" The tone in his voice made Dawn grimace. He was hurt by her statement, and now she was feeling really bad.

"No, I'm sorry Gary. You know I love your poems, it's just I never thought about you on a deeper level."

"Well, would you give me a chance?" He asked. Dawn turned to him to see a determined look on his face.

"Yes, I would. Thank you for coming with me, I'm really glad you did." She said cheerfully.

And she meant it.

/

Misty sighed as she stopped swimming and lay on her back in the water. She had gone for a nice swim down the shore line, but she had decided to stop half way to take a quick breather. A nice swim took her mind off things and _certain_ people.

"What am I going to do about him?" She relaxed and pushed her body back into the water.

"Do about whom?" A voice popped up behind her. Misty almost screamed in shock as she realized that someone had been floating relatively close to her this whole time.

"Ash what is wrong with you? You almost scared me to death! How long have you been there?" She was tempted to slap him silly when she saw he was smirked.

"I'll bite, what's so funny?"

"Were you thinking about me?" Ash asked, still smirking. For the second time that day Misty was really getting mad at Ash.

"You know, you're still on my hate list so you should be grovelling right now, not boasting. And I wasn't even thinking about you, if you must know." She played the whole thing off with a grin, which got wider when she noticed she had stumped Ash.

"I still don't know why you got so upset; I swear to you I was just joking." This time he was serious, and Misty was taken aback at how serious her usually jovial friend actually was.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel like you were put on the spot. Actually, it nice to see you impressed with me and I guess I just said the wrong thing in the spur of the moment." He mumbled, just loud enough for her to hear.

_Did he really just apologize? _Misty thought to herself.

"Well, its okay, maybe I overreacted. Sorry about that." She placed a hand on his arm as she said this, reassuring him that she was over it.

"Now let's go fill up those pool rings!" She said cheerfully. The smile that came onto Ash's face made her heart race, and she tried to ignore the feeling of butterfree in her stomach that was becoming more intense by the minute.

"Alright, then, I bet I can beat you back to our spot!" Ash yelled before swimming away as fast as he could.

"You wish!" She screamed, swimming after him with long strokes. Suddenly something came back to her as she swam after her raven-haired friend.

"W-wait a minute, who said I was impressed?"

/

"Today was so much fun! I honestly had a blast!" May exclaimed as she walked out of the guest bedroom bathroom in a tight-fitting red dress with red heels to match. May, Misty, and Dawn were back in Ash's house in the guest bedroom getting ready for dinner.

"You look so pretty, May." Dawn said cheerfully, looking the outfit up and down with a satisfied grin.

"Yeah, May. You look amazing, who are you trying to impress?" Misty said jokingly, winking at the brunette who was now as red as her dress.

"N-no one! There is no one here to impress anyways!" She stammered, frowning when the two other girls in the room began to giggle.

"I feel the _exact_ same way, I was just testing you." Misty replied, still trying to hold in giggles as she passed May to get her turn in the bathroom.

"Yeah, right, Misty." May spat, although she was about as serious as a Psyduck at the moment.

"Whatever!" Misty said in a sing-song voice before slamming the bathroom door shut behind her.

"So where are we going again? I was practically asleep on the ride back from the beach." Dawn asked as she began to search through her bags for an outfit to wear for dinner.

"Well basically Ash is clueless when it comes to the fancy places to eat dinner at so Brock and I were thinking we would look up some nice restaurants to go to. We found this really nice one called La Belle. It's actually not too far from here, but it's extremely classy – black tie only." May explained.

"I would wear that one; the pink would really blend well with these black pumps I have." May continued as Dawn pulled out a short, one shoulder strap sequin dress from her luggage.

"Oh really, well could I borrow them for tonight? I don't have any black pumps and I don't feel like wearing white tonight." Dawn replied, nodding appreciatively.

"Sure, of course! Just check my suitcase; it's on the other side of my bunk bed." May responded, pointing to a green and white suitcase resting on the edge of the bunk bed she slept on."

"Okay May, what do you think?" May turned to see Misty in a light green dress that had ruffles at the top and then tightened at the hips and thighs. The dress stopped at her kneecaps, and she had finished the look with some black flats.

"You look amazing Misty! But I can't let you go with those flats. We need something a little sexier." May said truthfully.

"Where are we even going?" Misty replied frustratingly.

"We're going to this fancy restaurant called the La Belle. Seriously, was _everyone_ sleeping on the ride back?" May asked the two girls in an annoyed tone.

"Well _we_ actually did some swimming." Dawn said matter-of-factly, still rummaging through May's suitcase for a pair of black pumps.

"Exactly, miss- let's tan on the beach every other day." Misty added in, checking her hair in her compact mirror.

"Hey, I have a golden glow and you guys are just jealous!" May retorted indignantly.

"Hey, what's this? Is this a letter from Drew?" Dawn thought aloud as she stopped looking through May's suitcase and took a seat on the bunk bed with a piece of paper in her hands.

"D-don't read that!" May screamed as she tackled Dawn to the floor. Dawn was shocked, but not stupid – she let go of the letter before her nearby dress was damaged or the dress that May had on was damaged.

"S-sorry, it was just sitting there!" Dawn apologized quickly as she jumped up and away from May.

"No it wasn't! It was at the bottom on the left side underneath my _underwear_! The pumps were on the right side in the middle. Were you _looking_ for something?" May asked angrily as she folded up the note and returned it to her suitcase, placing it in a different spot than before.

"Hey May, it was probably an accident." Misty tried to say, but the brunette wasn't listening. She zipped up her suitcase and threw it on her bed.

"Touch this suitcase, either of you, and…" She ended the sentence with a frustrated growl and then left the room, saying that she would be waiting downstairs for them.

Misty and Dawn stood for a minute, staring at the door May had just passed through. They looked at each other and just shrugged.

"I'm still taking these pumps though." Dawn stated before passing Misty and heading into the bathroom to get ready. Misty rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse from her bed, put on her perfume, and gave herself a final look over.

"She ran after me when I was upset." She told herself as she rushed out of the room, forgetting to tell Dawn she would be downstairs.

/

Meanwhile, in Ash's room…

"This bow-tie is so tight!" Ash cried angrily as he tried to remove the black string from around his neck.

"Stop complaining Ash, I didn't even tie it that tight." Brock replied with an annoyed tone in his voice.

"Yes you did, are you sure we have to dress like this?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Yup, we called the restaurant and they told us like three times. I think they thought we would still try to show up in casual clothing."

"Wow, well still I don't like this bow tie." Ash sighed.

"That's okay; I think Misty will think it looks good." Brock said with a wide smile before tying his own bow tie up. Ash did a complete 360.

"W-wait, what is that supposed to mean? Why would you bring Misty into this?" He asked with a raised fist and a crimson red face.

"Oh nothing, it didn't mean anything." Brock replied slyly, continuing to get ready as if Ash wasn't completely embarrassed and frustrated with his sentence.

"W-whatever, Brock. I'm going to go wait downstairs." Ash said with a shrug and a defeated look on his face. As the door to his bedroom slammed shut behind him, Brock sighed loudly.

"That was a bit too close. May said to cut corners but I almost shaved off our entire plan, can't make that mistake again." Brock sighed exasperatingly before heading into the bathroom to grab his cologne and deodorant.

/

**This chapter was shorter, but only because this week is becoming hell for me and I was smart enough to start this chapter earlier than usual so I only had to finish it. What do you guys think of how I portray Dawn? I wouldn't say she's a mean person in this story, just a bit possessive. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed. If you didn't already know, I'm working on another story for a whole other genre and I haven't updated in a while…What I'm trying to say is don't expect an update tomorrow or the day after, but I'll update as fast as I can. I love the reviews, you guys rock!**

**-GeminiMercedes-**


	5. La Belle Part 2

War & Peace Chapter 5 ( _La Belle_ 2)

Pokeshipping, ONE SIDED Pearlshipping, Cavaliershipping, more as the story goes!

/

Ash hopped down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. He was already hungry, and the group hadn't even left his house yet.

"Maybe I can snatch a quick snack before we leave." He said happily, rubbing his already growling belly. He walked by the mirror that hung on the wall by the front door and stopped to see his reflection. As tight as that bow-tie was, it really brought his whole outfit together. His black suit matched effortlessly with the white dress shirt he was sporting underneath. His jet black hair was messy in a spiky beach wave type of look that many surfers donned.

"Wow," He thought aloud. Brock had done a pretty good job of helping him get his outfit together, he looked sharp.

Softly snickering at the idea of him using the word, sharp, the raven-haired trainer headed to the kitchen.

"M-misty?" He stared in disbelief at the beautiful girl leaning over the kitchen island. She was wearing a stunning green dress that emphasized her mid section rather well. He couldn't help but blush. Misty looked, amazing.

"Oh, hey Ash." Misty replied, looking up from the glass of water she had been staring at. She stared for half a second before looking away, and Ash could have sworn he had seen a slight red splash onto her pale cheeks.

"You look really nice," She said abruptly as she turned back to him, as if it had taken a second for her to put on a brave face. She was smiling brightly at him, but a part of him could tell that that smile would easily disappear if he made some nonchalant joke.

"T-thanks, Misty. You look r-really nice too." Why was he stuttering? He had faced so many challenges and dangers on his adventures with a brave heart and a courage that had never extinguished. And here he was tripping over his words in regards to one of his best friends.

"Thank you," She replied cheerfully, before sighing and taking a sip of her glass of water.

"Are you okay, is something wrong? I bet you're hungry too huh?" He said with a wink, passing by her to get to the fridge. The orange-haired gym leader let out a shallow laugh and rolled her eyes.

"As if, you can't even wait till we get to the restaurant? Typical Ash…" She muttered, staring at his back as he searched around in the fridge.

"Hey, hey! You should be used to this by now." He retaliated playfully.

"So what's really going on? Did something happen on the way back?" He pushed. Misty sighed, honestly not wanting to give him an answer.

"I think May's mad at Dawn and me. We were kind of teasing her when we were getting ready. She's in the family room watching TV right now and she _refuses_ to talk to me."

Ash walked up beside her and placed a plate of cookies on the table in front of her.

"I'm going to save my stomach for dinner, thank you." Misty said exasperatingly while gesturing for him to take the cookies.

"Aw c'mon Misty, eat one at least. I bet it'll make you feel better. I'm not really good with all that girl advice stuff but I know May can't be actually mad for more than a couple of minutes." Ash said with a shrug. Misty gave him a half smile and took a deep breathe.

"Let's just have a good evening okay? I'll talk to her later." The orange-haired leader declared.

"Alright, by the way Misty…I'm really glad you're here." He couldn't believe he had just uttered that, but it was too late to take it back. Misty stared at him for a minute, her eyes opening just a bit wider. Her face began to get red again and as she opened her mouth to speak…

"Alright guys let's go! Misty where's May?" Dawn squealed, bursting into the kitchen and noticing the change in atmosphere.

"Are you guys ready?" She asked impatiently when no one answered her, tapping her right foot.

_She just has perfect timing… _Ash thought sarcastically. But he nodded his head and followed Dawn who was headed towards the family room.

/

_That was too close… _Misty thought to herself as she gripped the sides of the kitchen island tightly. She tried to take deep breathes in order to retain some of the air that seemed to be missing from her lungs.

_Did he really mean that? I hope he didn't take too much out of my reaction. Then again it is Ash…._

The last thought seemed to calm her down quite a bit. It _was_ Ash. The trainer could be pretty dense; she remembered all those days on their journey where he displayed that trait. It was what had kept their friendship together really. It had kept them arguing in a brother-sister type of way _and_ it kept him from figuring out the secret feelings she had been harbouring for him since the beginning.

"What am I going to do?" She sighed to herself. Suddenly she heard footsteps running towards the kitchen. A head full of blue hair peeped in.

"Misty, are you ready to go? Brock already started the car and May's just putting on her heels." The blue haired coordinator did nothing to hide the impatience in her voice. Misty looked away so she could roll her eyes and glare at something other than the blunette. She turned back and tried to put on a smile, which probably looked artificial at its best – but she didn't really care.

"Yup, just give me a sec." She replied quickly, taking a deep gulp of water and placing the glass by the sink.

"Alright, let's go." Dawn declared, not even stopping to wait for Misty to catch up as she headed out of the kitchen.

"This is going to be one heck of an evening…" Misty muttered to herself.

/

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, at best. May was sitting beside Brock, who was driving Mrs. Ketchum's car again, and Ash, Misty, and Dawn were sitting in the back.

Misty, still feeling guilty about what had happened with May, tried multiple times to catch the brunette's attention from the mirror but to no avail. Dawn on the other hand, was acting as if nothing had happened and engaged in small talk with Ash and Brock until they reached the restaurant.

"I heard so many good things about _La Belle_! Apparently it's really classy and pretty." The blunette mused. Misty sighed and contemplated tapping May's shoulder in order to get the girl's attention.

_She's probably still mad, and that probably wouldn't help…_ She thought to herself before leaning back in her seat and staring out of the window.

The weather was still warm but the sun had gone down fast, and the clouds seemed to get thicker and darker as they drove along the main road to _La Belle_.

"Is it going to rain?" Misty thought aloud, which caused everyone in the vehicle to look out the closest window.

"I hope not! I mean, I don't want my hair to get wet." Dawn squealed fearfully, this garnered a couple of sighs from some of the passengers in the car.

"What?" She shot back indignantly.

"I think there are some umbrellas in the trunk, it'll be okay if it does." Ash reassured.

"Good, I'm not planning on getting drenched _before_ dinner." May replied with a groan, reclining back a bit in her seat. She didn't realize Misty was sitting behind her and was too polite to tell her to stop.

"O-oh, sorry Misty!" May said quickly as she pulled her seat back up.

"It's no problem May, you can leave it down a bit if you're tired." Misty replied cheerfully; glad to see the brunette wasn't mad enough to ignore her anymore. Misty felt a nudge and turned to see Ash winking at her, mouthing the words 'I told you so'. She rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

_Whatever, Ashy-boy…_

/

"Alas, no rain!" Dawn screamed happily as she exited the car and slammed the door behind her.

"H-hey!" Ash yelled out, as he had almost been slammed in the face with said car door. This didn't even seem to phase Dawn.

"Let's go guys, Gary's probably waiting." She skipped off down the parking lot.

"She has a lot of energy, huh?" Misty asked Brock, who just sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Usually, but she's extra energized now. My guess is its Gary." Misty's jaw dropped before turning when she heard a laugh behind her.

"I would guess the same thing. She's head over heels for his poems, at least!" May explained through her giggles, as she walked over to Misty and Brock.

"Hey Brock, you wait for Ash. Misty and I are going to go ahead." May declared as she charged ahead, sending Brock a quick wave. Misty walked a little faster so she could catch up with the brunette.

"May I'm really sorry-"

"I'm not mad at you." May replied without turning towards the Cerulean Gym leader.

"You…aren't?" Misty said, scared to breathe a sigh of relief in case the brunette didn't mean it.

"No, I'm not. I didn't like that Dawn was looking through my suitcase but you really didn't have anything to do with that. I was just frustrated with the whole situation." May explained, looking left and right for the restaurant.

"I'm sorry anyways," Misty added in, focussing on May over the location of _La Belle_.

"It's okay, I told you, and you didn't do anything." May said cheerfully, turning to stare at Misty.

"But that Dawn on the other hand, she's really gonna get it." May continued, her whole demeanour changing in the amount of a second. Before Misty could even respond to that comment May turned to her with a look of determination in her eyes.

"I know you used to prank Ash all the time when you travelled with him. Give me some ideas." It was more of a command than a plea.

"I don't know about th-" Misty stopped as she turned to look at the building that she hadn't noticed before.

"What are you…?" May turned to look in the direction that Misty was looking at.

"Wow," Was all the brunette could say.

/

Saying _La Belle_ was beautiful, was an understatement. It was single building that looked like it had three floors, and looked as if it would be circular from a bird's eye view. The logo in front was in fancy cursive and was printed in a light pink that was surrounded by roses. There was a large pond in front of the restaurant, and on closer inspection, there were floating glass tiles that seemed to be the steps that lead into the restaurant.

"This is amazing!" May squealed, jumping up and down in astonishment.

_It is really nice, but doesn't it seem… _As in awe as she was, Misty's brain was telling her that something was up.

_I mean this place looks really romantic. I thought it was just a nice, fancy restaurant. _Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard two people walking up behind them.

"Hey, what are you guys waiting for?" Ash asked innocently. May just pointed at _La Belle_, to which Ash's jaw dropped and Brock just nodded.

"I'm impressed, I had a feeling it would be this nice." The Pokémon breeder stated matter-of-factly.

"How would you have known it would look like _this_?" May asked bluntly.

"Simple, for a restaurant is to be called _La Belle_, it would have to look nice. I mean, if it looked lacklustre it probably wouldn't be in business." He explained, nodding at the building and crossing his arms. May looked like she had a rebuttal ready to go, but everyone was interrupted by a loud noise coming from the direction of Ash.

The raven-haired trainer blushed in embarrassment as he patted his stomach and grinned at his friends.

"Sorry, I'm really hungry. Can we go now?" he gestured for the group to starting walking towards the restaurant.

"You're always hungry!" Misty replied with a groan, but she started walking.

/

The "walk" to the restaurant could have been called a journey. The boys and the girls were equally scared of falling into the pond as they stepped on the floating glass tiles. An employee on the other side of the pond reassured them that they wouldn't fall in, but that didn't take away the fear as they continued towards the entrance. Even though it seemed to take forever, in all actuality it took the four of them two minutes to cross the pond.

"That was so much fun! Can't wait to do that again," Ash exclaimed as he opened the entrance to the restaurant and held the door for everyone.

"It was alright, but this dress cost too much to be jeopardizing it getting ruined. What were they thinking?" May asked to no one in particular. While she loved the water, Misty had to agree. She had gotten all dressed up and even though she didn't like to dress this way all the time, there was no reason to ruin the outfit she had put together.

"Okay, so where did Dawn disappear to?" Brock asked, looking around the front foyer of _La Belle_.

It was a small room covered in red wallpaper and floating pink lanterns. The floor was covered in the petals of cherry blossoms and there were small in ground ponds on either side of the room. There was a grand door on one side of the room that was covered in gold and pink text in a foreign language. Suddenly, a waitress walked out and smiled and the group.

"Hello, I'm Yukari; I'll be serving you guys today. Let me guess, are you guys with Gary and Dawn?" The waitress said rather quickly.

Ash nodded while Misty and May raised their eyebrows.

"Pardon me asking, but how did you know that?" Misty asked, crossing her arms against her chest.

"They already arrived, and Dawn told me to look out for individuals with your descriptions." Yukari explained, a smile never leaving her face. Misty sighed realizing that there was a high possibility that she was telling the truth but after countless attempts of Team Rocket trying to trick them, she had grown to be a bit more alert when it came to her surroundings.

Clearly the same had happened to May who sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright then, are you going to show us to our seats?" She asked in a cheerful voice that Misty could clearly tell was just a cover up.

"Of course, follow me." Yukari replied in a pleasant tone, turning around and reopening the doors she had just walked out of. She gestured for them to follow her, and starting with Ash, the group began to leave the foyer.

"Alright, let's go. Wait, where is Brock?" May asked, turning to look behind Misty. Misty turned to see Brock with a shocked expression on his face, and a touch of scarlet forming on his cheeks. When he realized Misty and May were staring at him, he put his hands in front of his face to cover up the blush.

"Don't even think about it Brock!" The two girls yelled in unison just before Brock could come up with an excuse. Brock sighed and his head drooped.

"C'mon guys, what do you take me for?" But he knew they were right.

/

**Sorry, it's been a while since I updated. I was so sad when there were no reviews on the last chapter. If there is anything you guys don't like or disagree with, let me know so I can work on it. Anyways, the next chapter is going to have a lot more drama and chaos, so stay tuned. I look forward to the reviews everyone sends me so tell me what you'd like to see in future chapters.**

**-GeminiMercedes- **


	6. Sneaking Around

War & Peace Chapter 6 ( _La Belle_ 3)

Pokeshipping, ONE SIDED Pearlshipping, Cavaliershipping, more as the story goes!

/

It only took a couple of minutes for Yukari to lead them to their seats. Dawn and Gary seemed to be deep in discussion as the group walked over, and sent them a quick wave as they took their seats before returning to their conversation.

"I wonder what they're talking about…" May whispered in Misty's ear. Misty shrugged.

"I'm way too hungry to worry about that right now!" She whispered back. May rolled her eyes.

"You sound like Ash!" The two of them laughed and started up a conversation with Brock and Ash.

"So what are we doing tomorrow? I won't be here much longer…" May asked Brock. Misty turned to her with a shocked expression on her face.

"What do you mean 'much longer' are you leaving before the rest of us?" The orange-haired gym leader asked with hurt in her voice. May pouted and gave Misty a hug.

"I have to leave a bit earlier than the rest of you guys because my dad wanted me to stop by the gym for a couple of days. I have a maximum amount of days I can stick around before I return to the battle frontier." The brunette explained. Misty frowned and then shook her head.

"I understand, but I would have loved for you to stay a bit longer…"

"I'm glad I'll be missed. Don't worry; we will have the best time while I'm still here." May replied with a giggle.

"Yeah, we'll have a great time!" Ash added in. May nodded.

"Exactly, thank you Ash."

"Okay now, can you two lovebirds break apart for five seconds so we can order?" Brock asked. May and Ash thought he was referring to them and were about to interject when they realized he was talking about Dawn and Gary.

The two turned to the rest of the group with shocked expressions.

"L-lovebirds? What are you talking about?" Dawn stuttered.

"Y-yeah, what she said." Gary added, though Misty noticed he looked kind of upset at Dawn's response.

"Um, are you guys ready to order? I could come back later…" Yukari, their waiter, said as she walked up.

"No, we're good. We can order now, right Gary and Dawn?" Brock questioned the two impatiently. The two nodded and silently searched through their menus.

"Nice one Brock, except for the fact that I don't even know what I want yet!" May whispered to the Pokémon breeder.

"Yeah, next time we could use a warning." Misty said with a sigh, looking through her menu for_ anything_ appetizing.

"The hamburger looks pretty good." Ash said, pointing to a dish on Misty's menu. Misty smiled at her crush but shook her head.

"Maybe you should get that Ash; you could eat like _ten_ of those and not gain any weight." She replied.

"More like fifteen!" Ash said jokingly with a wink. Misty giggled in response, telling Yukari she would just have an almond salad with peach juice.

"Staying healthy I see. May are you going to do the same?" Brock asked with a laugh. May shook her head as she scanned the menu quickly.

"No way, I'm going to pig out. Misty I thought you said you were hungry?"

"Yeah, but I can always order something else later." May nodded at this response.

"True…but I'm still getting a hamburger." She rolled her eyes as Ash sent her a thumbs up. 

/

"That was great, this restaurant is pretty nice!" Ash said with a sigh as he sat back in his chair and rubbed his belly happily.

"I agree, but I'm stuffed, and I don't think I can get up." May replied with a sheepish grin.

"You guys are crazy. I mean after the fifth hamburger I thought you two would stop…" Misty said exasperatingly.

"Well you know those two," Brock added in. "Competitive by nature. I'm wouldn't have been surprised if they tried to steal each others burgers."

"_Hey_!" May and Ash replied indignantly jumping up, before moaning and sitting back in their chairs.

"We aren't carrying you guys to the car." Dawn said, shaking her head as she stood up and began walking towards the entrance.

"Hey, wait for us!" Gary yelled after, throwing some tip on the table and following the blunette.

The other four individuals at the table stared at the "lovebirds" that had just walked away.

"What is up with them?" Misty asked to no one in particular.

"I don't know, but it makes your job easier." May replied with a smirk, and then began laughing as Misty glared at her.

"Anyways, let's go. I'm tired and I think May and Ash are going to have some problems jumping over those glass tiles." Brock explained to the group.

Ash and May's eyes widened and screamed out.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO"

/

"That was interesting." Misty mused as she grabbed her toothbrush from the bag sitting on her bed and began walking over to the bathroom.

"We are _never_ talking about that again." May fumed as she lay down in her bunk and looked around for her head scarf.

"Where is Dawn, by the way?" May asked as she began to wrap her hair with her green scarf.

"I don't know." Misty replied absentmindedly as she brushed her teeth.

"Is she downstairs with Gary, Ash, and Brock?" May asked with a bit more impatience this time.

"_I don't know_! Why are you so worried about her location?" Misty yelled out from the bathroom. She turned her head and almost screamed when she saw May standing right beside her.

_Wasn't she just lying down on her bed?_

"The real question is why you_ aren't_ worried about her location! She could be putting the moves on your man and you wouldn't even know about it!" May exclaimed impatiently.

Misty was about to scream back at her friend that she didn't care but she stopped herself.

_May does have a point. _

Misty barely knew Dawn. She would admit that the girl seemed sweet _but_ it wouldn't hurt to check up on the group right?

She sighed in defeat, knowing that she would probably regret it later. May took this as a sign of acceptance.

"Exactly, so let's go spy! Change into some darker pyjamas, those yellow ones you're wearing will get us caught." May explained as she ran back to her suitcase to change her own pyjamas.

"Give me a minute…" Misty said with a sigh as she spit out her toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. This was totally not a good idea, and yet she was slightly excited.

/

"…So that's what I plan to do after I become the regional Pokémon contest winner."

"_Do you hear her? She's probably telling them that she wants to get married and have 3 kids." _

Misty was about to sigh when she realized she wanted the same thing.

"_And what would be so wrong with that? 3 kids doesn't seem that bad…"_

"_No it doesn't…if YOU'RE having that conversation with Ash. Not her!" _

Point taken…wait when had she said she wanted to have 3 kids with _Ash_?

Misty blushed as the thought, and then shook her head when she realized they were crawling towards the top of the staircase.

"_You know, you're an amazing friend May but we really don't have to do all of this…"_

"_Shhh! We can hear the best from here!" _

_She is insane!_ Misty thought to herself, but she didn't stop following May to the top of the stairs.

"…So what are you planning to do Ash? I mean after you become the best Pokémon trainer in the world?" The girls could hear Dawn asking Ash sweetly.

_She was right,_ Misty noted. They could really hear everything from their current location. May smirked in her direction, noticing that the orange-haired gym leader was paying attention to the current conversation.

"…Well I don't know. Settle down I guess? Maybe for a bit and then go for some more adventures in distant regions…the sky's the limit!" They could hear Ash reply proudly.

"…Oh really? That sounds nice…" The blunette didn't sound so perky anymore.

"_Maybe she wanted him to say that he wanted to settle down permanently." _May hissed in her friend's direction.

"_Oh please, Ash can barely sit still unless he's full of food – and even then he's trying to move!"_ Misty whispered back.

"…Well Dawn, I plan on settling down in Pallet Town since I'll be helping my grandfather with his research." The girls could hear Gary try to add in.

"_Someone's eager…" _Misty noted.

"_More like desperate."_ May corrected.

"_Can we go back now? My kneecaps are starting to hurt." _Misty hissed impatiently.

"_No way, it's just getting juicy." _May hissed back at her friend. Suddenly the two girls realized they were missing parts of the conversation. It was Brock talking.

"…Night guys, see you in the morning." followed by the sound of footsteps.

"_Run Misty, Run!" _The two girls stood up and ran back into their room, hiding in their bunks.

After everyone came up to go to bed, they could have swore they heard giggling and sighing under May and Misty's covers.

/

**Sorry this update took as long as it did. It was actually done, but I like to read over new chapters a couple times to check for errors. Anyways, I hope you guys liked this one. Tell me what you would like to see in future chapters! Review as always!**

**-GeminiMercedes-**


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